1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to paper stackers, more particularly it relates to continuous forms paper stackers which are used in conjunction with printers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, prior art stackers were used for folding a free-falling, continuous stream of paper. One known prior art stacker used with high speed computer printers utilized spinning beaters or flappers. A movable tray was provided to maintain an optimum distance between the top of a paper stack and pair of feeder rollers. The spinning beaters were placed on a rotating axle and comprise deformable plastic extensions that extend from a hub permanently positioned on the rotating axle. The flappers were located on the tray on which the continuous paper form was received after printing, such that they were in juxtaposition to the crease as they were about to fold. In effect, the flappers beat on the seams of the refolded stack and thereby aid in maintaining a substantially flat stack.
A shortcoming of this prior art is that, due to its reliance on free-falling action of the paper it has limitations handling the wide variety of paper forms which are used. Thus, when stacking is not performed properly, the stacker must be stopped and the operator must provide manual assistance.
Another difficulty with prior art techniques occurred in the case of high speed laser printers. In these printers, heat and pressure are used in the process of fusing the toner to the paper. The heat and pressure cause the creases or seams of the continuous form to be ironed-out so that re-stacking is even more difficult.
Previous attempts to overcome these problems in the higher speed printers have been either overly complex or unsatisfactory.
The foregoing illustrates limitations of known prior art. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations as set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is to provide an air controlled paper stacker including features more fully disclosed hereinafter.